Bicycle trailers adapted to be coupled to the rear of a bicycle and to be pulled after the bicycle, are commonly equipped to be used both as bicycle trailers and as manually pushed carriers such as infant strollers. A combined stroller and bicycle trailer is described in DE 102030030966 A1. Other examples of convertible bicycle trailers are found in EP1162134 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,744 A.
In order to be useful e.g. as an infant stroller, the trailer chassis is commonly provided with an additional wheel placed at the front of the bicycle trailer. The additional wheel is only needed when the bicycle trailer is used as a stroller or manually pushed cart. When the bicycle trailer is used in the trailer mode and is coupled to a bicycle, the small additional front wheel is not needed and is generally not even wanted as it is unsuitable for the speeds attained when the trailer is pulled after the bicycle. Furthermore, if the wheel is hanging down from the frame when the carrier is coupled to a bicycle the wheel may be hit by stones and other items on the ground over which the carrier is pulled.
Accordingly, it has been suggested that the additional front wheel be detachable so that it can be removed when the bicycle trailer is used in the trailer mode. In DE 102030030966 A1 it is disclosed to have an attachment member in the trailer frame that is adapted to receive a corresponding attachment member on the front wheel. The attachment members have a non-circular cross-section, such as a square cross-section allowing the front wheel attachment member to be plugged into the frame attachment member in two different and distinct positions wherein one position is an in-use, active position and the other position is a rest position that can be used when the bicycle trailer is being pulled after a bicycle.
The trolley disclosed in EP1162134 A1 has a front wheel that can be swung back into a rest position under the trolley. The front wheel arrangement in U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,744 A can be rotated to the rear in an upwards rest position and can be locked in position by tightening a threaded knob.
Although the prior art front wheel arrangements allow the front wheel to be moved into a rest position, they are still not completely satisfactory.
An object of the invention is therefore to offer a front wheel arrangement allowing a user the possibility of choosing whether to completely remove the front wheel from the trailer frame or to leave it in a rest position on the bicycle trailer when the bicycle trailer is used in the trailer mode.
A further object of the invention is to simplify the conversion of a bicycle trailer between a trailer mode and a push-carrier mode.